The Gibraltar national cricket team is the team that represents the

British overseas territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Br ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

international cricket International cricket matches are played between teams representing their nations, normally organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The main forms are Test matches, One-Day matches and Twenty20 matches. Most games are played ...

. They have been an associate member of the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the '' ...

(ICC) since 1969.Gibraltar
at CricketArchive Gibraltar played in the

ICC Trophy The ICC World Cup Qualifier (previously called the ICC Trophy and officially known as the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier) is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that serves as the culmination of the Cricket World Cup qualif ...

(now replaced by the ICC World Cup Qualifier) from 1982 to 2001, with little success. The team has played in the top-flight of the

European Cricket Championship The European Cricket Championship was a group of various tournaments in which national cricket sides throughout Europe competed. The competition was designed to encourage and develop the best players in countries where cricket was not a major sp ...

on four occasions, and placed sixth (out of eight teams) at 1996 European Cricket Championship held in Denmark in 1996. After the creation of the

World Cricket League The ICC World Cricket League (WCL) was a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status (i.e., teams of Associate status) administered by the International Cricket Council. All Associate Members of ...

, Gibraltar was placed in the 2009 Division Seven. It was subsequently relegated to 2010 Division Eight, where another low finish saw the team again relegated, to regional qualifying tournaments. With approximately 34,000 residents, Gibraltar has one of the smallest populations of any ICC member. Only three members, all fellow dependencies of ICC full members, have a smaller population – in order from largest to smallest, the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...

, and

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

History

Early years

Cricket has been played in Gibraltar by British servicemen since the late 18th century. A cricket ground is known to have existed north of the

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Medite ...

in 1800. Civilians were playing the game as well as servicemen by 1822. The Gibraltar Cricket Club was formed in 1883, and formed the backbone of civilian cricket until well into the 20th Century. In 1890, a ship carrying the

Australia national cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) a ...

on the way to a tour of England, docked in Gibraltar Harbour after a collision with two other ships. The Australians played a game against a Gibraltar Garrison team. The local side were dismissed for just 25, and the Australians won the game, scoring 150/8. The game was flourishing in the 1930s, with Gibraltar producing many locally born players. However, the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

meant a cut back in the game, with many cricket fields giving way to the military, one even being converted into an airfield.

Post-war years

The 1950s saw an increase in clubs, and the

Gibraltar Cricket Association Gibraltar Cricket Board is the official national governing body of the sport of cricket in Gibraltar. Its current headquarters is at 1st Floor, GFSB, Irish Town, Gibraltar. ''Gibraltar Cricket'' is Gibraltar's representative at the International ...

was formed in 1960. They were elected to

associate membership of the ICC The International Cricket Council (ICC) was founded at Lord's on 15 June 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference, with Australia, England, and South Africa as its founding members. In the beginning, only countries within the Commonwealth cou ...

in 1969.

Essex County Cricket Club Essex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Essex. Founded in 1876, the club had minor county status until 1894 when ...

visited after the conclusion of the 1973 English domestic season, and played a Rock XI in a one-day game, winning by 178 runs. Visits by English sides of various ability levels have continued ever since. In 1982, Gibraltar took part in the second

, without winning a match. They improved on this performance in the 1986 tournament, gaining their first international win against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. They performed even better in the next tournament, beating East and Central Africa,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and Israel reaching the plate competition.1990 ICC Trophy
at

Cricinfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...

Israel toured Gibraltar in 1992, winning the match they played against the national side. Gibraltar finished in 20th place in the 1994 ICC Trophy,1994 ICC Trophy
at Cricinfo and played in the first European Championship in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

in 1996, finishing sixth after losing to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in a play-off.1996 European Championship
at CricketEurope They finished 19th in the following years ICC Trophy1997 ICC Trophy
at Cricinfo and played poorly in the 1998 European Championship, finishing last in the ten team tournament.1998 European Championship
at CricketEurope In 1999, Gibraltar hosted a quadrangular tournament also involving

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, losing in the final to Italy. The European Championship was split into two divisions in 2000, with Gibraltar placed in Division Two, which they won.2000 European Championship
at CricketEurope The following year they travelled to Canada to take part in the

2001 ICC Trophy The 2001 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament played in Ontario, Canada in 2001. It was the Cricket World Cup qualification tournament for the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Three spots in the World Cup were on offer and the Netherlands, host nation Canada ...

. A withdrawal by Italy and the non-arrival of

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...

left Gibraltar with just three matches to play against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

, losing all of them and not progressing beyond the first round. Gibraltar defended their European Division Two title in 2002, but could not continue this success in 2004, finishing fifth out of six teams.2004 European Championship Division Two
at the

European Cricket Council The European Cricket Council (ECC) is an international body which oversaw cricket in European countries other than the Test-playing cricketing nation of England, the only European Full Member of the ICC for the duration of the ECC's existence. ...

official website They did not qualify for the

2005 ICC Trophy The 2005 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament held in Ireland between 1 July and 13 July 2005. It was an international one-day tournament played over 50 overs per side between 12 Associate Members of the International Cricket Council. It served ...

,2005 ICC Trophy
at Cricinfo and finished fourth in Division Two of the European Championship in 2006 after losing a play-off to Germany.2006 European Championship Division Two
at CricketEurope Gibraltar placed sixth at the 2009 Global Division Seven tournament and was relegated to Division-eight.

2018-Present

In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full

Twenty20 International A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are th ...

(T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inn ...

matches played between Gibraltar and other

ICC members The International Cricket Council (ICC) was founded at Lord's on 15 June 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference, with Australia, England, and South Africa as its founding members. In the beginning, only countries within the Commonwealth could ...

after 1 January 2019 will be a full T20I. Gibraltar played their first T20I on 26 October 2019, against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, during the 2019 Iberia Cup. Gibraltar won their first T20I in the 2021 Valletta Cup against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. This win came on the back of a

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

from

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Balaji Pai accompanied by a half century from 16 year old Louis Bruce.

Records and statistics

International Match Summary — Gibraltar ''Last updated 3 July 2022''

Twenty20 International

* Highest team total: 217/4 v.

on 23 October 2021 at Marsa Sports Club, Marsa,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. * Highest individual score: 107 *, Balaji Pai v.

on 23 October 2021 at Marsa Sports Club, Marsa,

. * Best individual bowling figures: 4/25, Iain Latin v.

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

on 1 July 2022 at Royal Brussels Cricket Club, Waterloo. T20I record versus other nations ''Records complete to T20I #1606. Last updated 3 July 2022.''

Other records

ICC Trophy

* Highest team total: 270/5 v

, 18 June 1990 at Sportpark Laag Zestienhoven,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

* Highest individual score: 98, Tim Buzaglo v

, 25 February 1994 at Ruaraka Sports Club Ground,

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

* Best individual bowling figures: 5/14, Nigel Churaman v

, 30 March 1997 at Rubber Research Institute Ground,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

ICC Trophy record versus other nations

One-Day

Below is a record of international matches played in

and

events by Gibraltar between 1982 and 2013.

Tournament history

World Cricket League Qualifier

*2012: 3rd place (La Manga)

World Cricket League

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

: 6th place (Division Seven) *

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

: 6th place (Division Eight)

ICC Trophy

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

: Did not participate *

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

: First round *

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

: First round *

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

: Plate competition *

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

: 20th place *

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

: 19th place *

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

: First round *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

: Did not qualify

European Championship

*1996: 6th place *1998: 10th place *2000: Division Two winners *2002: Division Two winners *2004: 5th place (Division Two) *2006: 4th place (Division Two) *2008: 3rd place (Division Two) *2010: 6th place (Division Two) *2011: 9th place (Division One) *2014: 4th place (Division Two)

T20i Tournaments

* 2008 Iberia Cup: runner-up. * 2019 Iberia Cup: 3rd place. * 2021 Portugal Tri-Nation Series: 3rd place. * 2021 Valletta Cup: 4th place.

References

External links

Official website of the GCA
{{Gibraltar topics National cricket teams

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

Gibraltar in international cricket

History

Early years

Post-war years

2018-Present

Records and statistics

Twenty20 International

Other records

ICC Trophy

One-Day

Tournament history

World Cricket League Qualifier

World Cricket League

ICC Trophy

European Championship

T20i Tournaments

See also

References

External links